Sea Crest Village Records, 1941-1985 – MS062

Sea Crest Village Records, 1941-1985 – MS062

Provenance: In about 1987, the records were found in a building at Sea Crest Village (later Mariner’s Village and now Osprey Landing) and Sherman Pridham, Director of the Portsmouth Public Library, was consulted about their placement. Pridham directed tham to the Athenaeum.

Sea Crest Village, originally called Wentworth Acres, was built during World War II by the Federal Public Housing Authority to house the hundreds of workers hired by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. It was transferred to private hands and became a rental after the war. This collection is made up primarily of a series of plans and architectural drawings, from the building of an elevated water tank in the Sea Crest Village area to the construction of the housing units, to later remodel of those units. Also included in the collection are advertising brochures, blank applications for residency, one issue of a newsletter published by the Village, employee information, and record books listing maintenance done on the units.

Folder 4 Employee Information, Brochures and Classified Advertisements – details type of individuals that made good tenants and those that should not be allowed as well as tactics for “selling” the development to good potential renters

OV13.7 “Final Entrance Treatments” Pencil on Tracing Paper. Shows one (duplex) entrance and one rear or side door. Poor condition. One photo, of side door similar to drawing, affixed to upper center. Acid marks indicate there were original. Other photos affixed and now gone.

Author John Lillard will present a talk about his new book "Playing War: Wargaming and U.S. Navy Preparations for World War II". The book explores wargaming at the Naval War College during the 20s and 30s, and how it helped the Navy prepare for the war against Japan.

Historic Portsmouth Chamber Music Series presents Jose Lezcano with String Ensemble. Guitarist Jose Lezcano, violinist Jennifer Elowitch, and members of the Portland Chamber Music Festival team up to play a program of music for guitar and strings. The program, "Mediterranean Muses & Iberian Images" includes works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (his sunny and lyrical masterpiece, the Guitar Quintet), Luigi Boccherini (the exciting Fandango from his Quintet in D minor for guitar and strings), and a virtuoso Sonata Concertante for guitar and violin by Paganini. Lezcano will also present one of his compositions for guitar and strings, Mojito y Habano in a premiere performance.

Hours

Donate to the Athenaeum

The Athenæum today continues this long tradition of mutual improvement by maintaining a library of over 40,000 volumes and an archive of manuscripts, photographs, objects, and ephemera relating to local history. It also sponsors exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and other educational and cultural programs.